


Superstar

by OccupationLove



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alfred is not named in this story, Alfred punches the guy though, Best Friends, Dense Boys, He is the "he" that isn't Ludwig though, Homophobic Language, M/M, born with it, but it's not officially established, he deserved it, hinted at deeper relationship, it was a different writing style exploration, slight jealousy, superhero au, teammates, tech and science heros, with feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 01:12:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15853203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccupationLove/pseuds/OccupationLove
Summary: His dream--his life aspiration--was to be a hero and maybe he had a chance to succeed at it, especially with someone like Ludwig at his side. Now, they only needed a plan.





	Superstar

**Author's Note:**

> GerAme Day 6 Entry 1  
> I hope you enjoy!

All he wanted was to be a hero. He wanted to fly the skies, save the girl, and disappear into the sunset only to be seen the next time someone needed him. He had spent years watching geniuses engineer their way into fame. He’d even seen scientists experiment their way into super strength and speed that no human should reach. The future was bright and full of possibility if you had the money to pay someone to fix your genetics or teach you how to operate their overly advanced equipment. Or if you were wild and reckless enough to let someone inject unknown substances into your bloodstream in the hopes that it’ll give you powers that allowed you to help others.

He was neither of those things but he still wanted to be a hero.

He had no idea where to start in order to build his own machinery; so, he was at a loss with all the normal ways he could achieve his dream. 

The public would say it was hopeless, that he was just another wannabe in a crowd of nothings that needed to find a new passion, but they didn’t know what he already had. Years ago, his father and mother had volunteered as part of the first experiments that produced superpowers. Neither of them produced any results and the first few chemicals were considered a failure. However, he couldn’t help but wonder if those chemicals had any lingering results or maybe he was just blessed with a gift that he didn’t know how to use yet. 

When he was eight, it all started manifesting into something that was real but hard to control. He had decided there was something special about him then; after all, not any eight-year-old could pick up their parent’s bed in a search for the dog. A couple years later, the “problem” as his parents referred to it became harder to control and he accidentally ripped the locker door off when he opened it too fast. The gossip that spread through town had his parents relocating their family to a larger area--so there were more people to blend in with they said-- and homeschooling him.

There he met another boy his age with big blue eyes and platinum blond hair. His name was Ludwig and they were neighbors and very fast friends for a multitude of reasons. Ludwig, he discovered almost as fast as they had become friends, could make things float just by looking at them. 

“Don’t tell anyone,” he had whispered, “my brother said it’d be dangerous to tell anyone.”

He had never told anybody but if he was being honest, all he really wanted was to see if Ludwig could make him fly. They tried to make it work for hours but in the end, he only came a few inches off the ground and Lud was tired. They’d try again later.

He told his friend about his abnormal strength soon after and Ludwig had immediately climbed on top of his childhood bed and demanded to be picked up. It was no struggle, really, but Lud didn’t have very good balance and fell off the top, effectively spraining his wrist. Neither of them ever told anyone how the injury happened.

* * *

 

Several years later, when they were both seventeen, they formed a group--it was just the two of them but it was cool to have a name for their friendship--to help themselves train their abilities. At least, that way, they’d have better control over themselves and maybe be able to help someone if they saw the chance. They called themselves Life Support; or, well, he called them that. Ludwig refused the name very adamantly.

It wasn’t long before they both had pretty decent control of what they were doing and by the time they graduated high school, they had already helped figured out some of the logistics they need to bring themselves into the real world. Now all they needed, was the technology to support themselves and the costumes to avoid recognition. Ludwig entered college a year later and the group was temporarily disbanded as his best friend studied engineering. He hadn’t even applied for school in the mess that was preparation into stardom. So, he picked up a job at a deli downtown and began saving up money for costume materials.

At Christmas, Ludwig came home and told him that he wasn’t sure he wanted to be a hero anymore and if he was being honest that was the most depressing news he’d ever heard in his life. Ludwig had sighed and stared at the ceiling, looking emotional before shaking his head, “I just I don’t think I can do it. What if someone recognizes us? Trust me when I say that we’re putting ourselves in danger. I’m not sure if I can do that to my brother. I’m sorry.”

He felt like he was going to cry honestly, “I can’t go off and be a superhero without my best friend! We’ve been planning for this for years.”

But Ludwig only shook his head again, “I can’t; I’m sorry.”

They sat on the floor for hours in silence after that. Eventually, Lud smiled somewhat self-consciously and said, “You know, I wonder what going to under the tree this year. I don’t think we’re ever going to get too old for presents.”

He laughed but only half-heartedly, “You’re probably right.”

* * *

 

He had given up his dream after Christmas, unable to fathom making a breakthrough in the hero world with Ludwig. Yet, by the time February hit, his lingering sadness had transformed into boiling anger and he found himself driving to the college. He was sure he seemed enraged to every person that he passed but he knew exactly where Lud would be. It was hard not to when he had his schedule memorized.

The overlook behind the school.

That’s where his best friend spent his free time and he wasn’t at all surprised to find him sitting on a fence and looking out into the valleys that fell below the campus. He was, however, surprised when Ludwig turned around and he had a black eye, “What--are you okay? How did that happen?”

He watched as his best pulled away from and avoided eye contact, “It’s not important. It’s no big deal, really; I was just being stupid. What’re you doing here?”

He knew from the sound of Lud’s voice that he wasn’t telling the truth but he wouldn’t push it; so, he laughed as he remembered why he came and shook his head, unwilling to add another burden to Ludwig’s life, “I just wanted to see you is all. I feel like for best friends we don’t really talk all that much, you know?”

Lud’s eyes shifted to both sides as if he were looking for danger, “You shouldn’t be here. Not that I don’t appreciate the visit it’s just--”

“Woah, look at that! The dude in the picture is real! So, what? Are you here to visit your  _ boyfriend _ ? How  _ cute. _ ”

He turned around and threw a punch before he even had time to think about it. The sound of his knuckles connecting with this mystery guy’s mouth had him shaking after the impact, however. The man hit the ground hard but seemed no more than nonplussed that he had been hit.  _ Good, _ he thought, _ I didn’t cause any permanent damage. _

Ludwig grabbed his arm, “We should go.”

He looked back at his friend--who seemed frightened, at best-- and found himself even angrier than he had been before. The man on the ground glared up at him, “You know, for someone who’ll never own up to being a  _ real man _ , you sure pack a punch. You two gonna run off into the sunset together?  _ Romantic. _ ”

He glared back, “Listen, asshole. First of all, it’s none of your damn business. Second of all, the only person here that’s not a real man is the one who somehow thinks that belittling others makes him bigger. Third of all, why are you so interested, hmm? Are you jealous? You know, for a straight guy you sure look comfortable on your back down there.”

Ludwig pulled at his arm, “We should  _ go _ !”

The asshole on the ground was seething anger and started to get back to his feet, “What did--”

He cut him off, “I only going to warn you once. If you get up before we leave I’m going to punch you again. Harder this time. If you try to talk to me or Ludwig like you’re better than us you’re gonna find that you can’t get back up off that ground. If I hear anything about you harassing anyone ever again you’re going to need a hospital. Do I make myself clear?”

The other guy was angry but stayed down, “You can’t just threaten me like that!”

“And repeated derogatory statements, showing up where you aren’t wanted, and whatever else you think is appropriate behavior towards people who are different than you can be considered harassment and assault; so, maybe if you don’t like being threatened you should treat others like they’re human beings.”

Ludwig jerked his arm towards himself, “ _ Let’s go.” _

Finally, he found himself walking away, Ludwig dragging him forward, but he had his eyes fixed in a glare over his shoulder. Once they were far enough away, his best friend shoved his shoulders looking simultaneously furious and terrified, “You can’t just threaten people when they’re being rude. We could’ve just left.”

He crossed his arms, “And let him think that what he was saying was okay? I don’t appreciate him trying to treat anyone like that let alone you or me.”

Ludwig groaned and ran his hands through his hair, “He’s just a dumbass. He won’t be around forever; I could have handled it.”

He sighed, “Maybe you could have. But I can’t. I can’t when people talk to other people like that, Lud. I can’t just sit back and let him walk all over either one of us. Besides, he doesn’t know us! He doesn’t have the right to assume that we’re--”

“You’re the background to my phone. That’s why he thinks we’re--”

“--dating. Oh, I see. Well, the background to my phone is a selfie that we took in high school.”

Ludwig blinked, “It is?”

He snorted and pulled out his phone, unlocking it so Lud could see, “Yeah.”

Lud smiled and then sighed, “Oh. I forgot that we took that picture.”

It was from the first school dance they had gone to. Neither one of them had a date and they had decided to go together and hang out. Who said they had to go with a girl to have fun? They didn’t. It turned out a lot of the kids at school had the same idea. After all, there had been fewer couples than groups of friends.

He smiled back, “Well, it's my favorite picture so there’s no forgetting about it for me.”

Ludwig crossed his arms and looked back in the direction that they had left the other guy, “He punched me. That’s why I have a black eye. Him and two of his friends saw the picture as my background and started yelling about how it’s unnatural. I tried to explain that you’re not my boyfriend and they just didn’t listen. I’m not used to fighting. Sometimes I feel like I want to hit someone but I know that I’ll get myself in too deep and get hurt; so, when he punched me I just stayed down.”

He raised an eyebrow, “How’d that work out for you? You know, you have to take care of yourself.”

“Ah, well, he only really got the opportunity for the one hit. There’s this girl in my physics class that happened to be nearby and she ran up and started yelling at them and they backed off. I think she caught them off guard honestly. I mean, I think I’d be caught off guard too if a five-foot tall girl appeared out of nowhere and start yelling without any fear whatsoever.”

He laughed, “Yeah, me too. She sounds like she’s hero material.”

Ludwig shrugged, “That’s her plan. She wants to build her own suit, you know?”

He nodded, “Ah one of those heroes. She must be smart.”

“She is.”

He wondered for a moment why his chest hurt thinking about it.

* * *

 

When Ludwig came home for the summer, he did so with a grin on his face and a girl at his side, “I think we’ve got a new team member.”

It took him longer than he would’ve liked to realize that his best friend wanted to start training to be heroes again but to be fair he had never met the girl that was staring up at him, eyes determined and full of fire like there was no stopping her. He found himself brushing aside his questions in favor of keeping the smile on Ludwig’s face, “Yeah? Then we better start training again.”

The girl grinned brighter than anything he’d ever seen before, “Let’s get started.”

* * *

 

He quickly learned that out of the three of them the girl--Sakura--was the smartest and could easily calibrate and engineer their way into bettering themselves. She spent her time mumbling to herself and building things while the boys practiced using the abilities they were born with. Occasionally, she’d yell something across the room. Something about arcing his arm a little more downward to give greater strength towards his punches. Or something about Lud trying to focus on more than one object at a time.

With her on the team, they developed much faster than they ever had. She’d correct them or make something easier for them and Ludwig would smile at him from across the room or whisper to him about how smart she was. 

He'd be lying if he said that they weren’t fast friends.

But he’d also be lying if he said her joining their team didn’t bother him to some degree. The way she laughed with Ludwig and threw paper at him when he was being ridiculous...the way she fit into his life like she was supposed to be there made him anxious.

He knew he was being irrational and he knew that he had no right to dictate who Ludwig was friends with but it had always been just the two of them and he couldn’t help but feel like he had been mildly replaced.

Ludwig told him what he already knew toward the end of June--Sakura was the girl that had yelled at those assholes from before. She was fierce and intelligent and could be there for his best friend when he couldn’t be. He wondered if she knew things about Lud that he didn’t know. He hoped--and felt petty doing so--that he knew things she didn’t know.

Right before the two of them went back to school she built a helmet that would allow Ludwig to pick up several objects in his periphery without much strain. She also built a jacket for herself that allowed her to emulate flight. He was given a shirt that could deflect most weaponry.

* * *

 

He didn’t see Ludwig again until Christmas and that time he came home alone. They sat in the beanbags in the corner of his bedroom talking about everything they could think of for hours. Eventually, Lud fell asleep curled up and peaceful and he got up to drape a blanket over him.

The next morning they got into a fight over something stupid and all of his insecurities came spilling out of his mouth. He was crying by the time he stopped shouting and Ludwig was standing across the room looking bewildered and mildly amused. He stomped his foot in protest, “What exactly do you think is so funny?”

Ludwig shook his head and smiled, “Only the fact that you somehow think you’re replaceable.”

He wiped at his eyes and tried to look cross, “Well, I’m sorry! I just feel left out sometimes.”

Ludwig shook his head again, “You should have told me; I didn’t know. You--Here, I can prove you’re not replaceable.”

Lud pushed himself closer to his side and fished his phone out of his pocket. He watched as the screen was unlocked and he was met with his own smiling face on the background. Lud smiled, “I change the picture sometimes but it’s always of you. I don’t think I even have a picture of Sakura, actually.”

Under the picture, in Ludwig’s handwriting, the hero name he had picked out for himself as a child stared back at him and he had a sudden realization washed over him like a wave at the beach. Maybe to the public, he’d always be the wannabe kid that wants into a world he doesn’t belong in. Maybe they’d tell him to find a new dream and give up what he’d worked for. But to Ludwig he’d always been and always would be a hero.

To Ludwig, he was exactly what he’d always wanted to be.

He smiled down at the name on the screen:

_ Superstar. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3 Any kudos or comments are appreciated!


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